Device for lubricating car or locomotive wheels.



F. w: HODGES.

DEVICE FOR LUBRIQATING CAR 0R LOCOMOTIVE WHEELS.

APPLlCATION FILIID JUNE 24,1914.

Patvntvd Feb. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET A TTOR/VEYS F. W. HUDGES.

DEVICE FOR LUBRICATING CAR 0R LOCOMOTIVE WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24. I9I4.

Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

2 SHtETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK W. HODGES, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO DETROIT LUBRICATOR COMPANY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

DEVICE FOR LUBRICATING CAR OR LOCOMOTIVE To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. Honors, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Lubricating Car or Locomotive Wheels, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a device for feed ing oil upon the flange of a car or locomotive, the same being'rnormally inoperative but adapted to feed by and upon the vibrations which arise when the vehicle is in central section through the oil supply tank,

and with the pump therein, of the preferred form of my device; also showing in section the discharge nipples at the wheels; Fig. 2 is a section online a:m of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation looking from the righthand of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged section through one of the discharge nipples.

At the present time it is well understood that to apply lubricant to the flanges of locomotive driving wheels very materially lengthens the service or life of the driving I surfaces thereon, and a number of devices have been used to effect this lubrication. Condensation displacement. o l feedmg devices having a discharge pipeleading to the wheel, with steam blowing through the pipe to spray the oil upon the flange, have een employed; spring-pressed graphite sticks have also been applied to the wheel; and it has also been roposed to have an oiltank with gravity f ed, the outlet therefrom being controlled by a valve, said valve to be operated by a rolling ball,"the ballbemg set in motion by the vibration or oscillation of the locomotive.

Any device which feeds the 011 constantly Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 24, 1914. Serial No.846,912.

shown four cylinders, B B.

Patented Feb. 8,1916.

is objectionable'because it willfeed the oil while the locomotive is standing still and any surplus of oil upon the wheels will be transmitted to the track and very greatly reduce, 11? not entirely eliminate, the tract1on, The rolling ball construction for operatmg the valve lacks sensitiveness and depends upon gravity for eeding,and the dust and dirt will accumulate in running and will fill up the discharge orifices and may render the device inoperative. In the devices in which an unobstructed feed pipe is used, from the oiltank -or feeding deviceto the wheels, when the locomotive stops the oil continues to drip until the pipe is empty, and thus feeds the oil unnecessarily and reduces the traction when it is most needed.

7 My devicev overcomes the objections to these prior devices, is extremely sensitive in operation and eflicient in the delivery of 011 when most needed and stops feeding whenever the train comes to rest.

A represents an Oll tank in which I have ders have an intake-nipple, a, controlled by a check-valve, b, and a discharge port, ('2, controlled in this instance by a spring-pressed check-valve, 0?. At the lower end I have shown these cylinders each as resting upon These cylin the bottom of the tankand held in position therein by a flanged nipple, C, passing through the tank and clamping the parts tightly together. In each of the cylinders B with sleeves, H, having laterally projecting rock-arms, I, I, at opposite sides, which pass through the slots in the pistons D D". The sleevesv H may be detachably secured to the rock-shaft as by set-screws, J. The rockshaft G preferably extends through the wall of the oil tank and is provided with a pendulum, 0, having a weight, P, preferably adjustably secured thereon, as by the set-screw Q. Discharge pipes, K, K, communicate with the discharge passages through the nipples, C, leading to a point in proximity to the wheels, L, to be lubricated. At the ends of the pipes, K K, are check-valves, M, M. In this case I have shown secured to the ends of the pipes K K discharge nipples, R, connected with the ends of the pipes by means of a ball-and-socket joint, as shown at S, and having within an adjustable drip pin, T,leading into close proximity to the-flange of the wheel where the oil isto be deposited, the pin T being of smaller diameter than the nipples, R, so that the oil may freely pass out and flow down the pin and drip upon the wheel at the desired point. vThis construction of discharge nipple forms no part of my .present invention, and any other means may be employed for bringing the oil upon the Wheel at the desired point, or the pipes K K may terminate in close proximity to these wheel flanges.

It is obvious from the description of the mechanism that as the locomotive travels over the track there is more or less oscillation or vibration imparted to it, and such oscillation or vibration will cause the Weighted pendulum, P, to swing and the swinging thereof will rock the shaft G and rock arms I I thereon and raise and lower the pistons D D, in the cylinders B B and draw oil in through the inlet opening and discharge it through the discharge port into the pipes K K; and when those pipes have been filled the further movement of the pump will unseat the valves M M and cause the oil to drop or flow upon the wheel flanges.

With the construction shown, in which there are four pumps, the oil will be fed to the four drivers, two upon each side, or to any other wheels desired. It is also obvious that when the locomotive is at rest there will be no motion imparted to the pendulum and no oil will be fed. By having the checkvalves, or other arresting means, immediately adjacentv the point to which the oil is to be delivered, as soon as the device stops forcing the oil the supply to the wheels will be stopped and only the oil below the checkvalve will drip upon the wheels,--which will be an'entirely negligible quantity.

The pendulum device for controlling the oil feed is exceedingly sensitive-and by adj'usting the screws F vertically and also by adjusting the weight P on the pendulum 0,

it may be adjusted toany desired feed.

By having the forced feed for feeding the oil the danger of stoppage by clogging at the discharge end of the delivery pipes is practically'entirely eliminated. I

While the construction herein shown is the construction which I prefer to employ, it is obvious that it may be' varied inmany ways'without departing fromthe spirit ofmy invention.

While I have shown the device as delivering oil to lubricate the wheel flanges, it is obvious that the point of delivery is immaterial so far as my invention is concerned, and that it can be used for-delivering oil at other-points of the vehicle What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a device for lubricating car or locomotive wheels, the combinationof a lubricant pump carried on the vehicle and means for actuating the pump by the vibration of the vehicle operative at all the normal angles at which the vehicle travels.

. ,2. In a device for lubricating car or locomotive wheels, the combination of an oil tank, a pump for taking the oil-therefrom and delivering it to the wheel, and a device actuated by the vibration of the vehicle for operating the pump operative at all the normal angles at which the vehicle travels.

3. In adevice for lubricating car or locomotive wheels, the combination of an oil tank,.a pump for taking oil therefrom and delivering it to the Wheel and a pendulum connected to the pump and oscillated by the vibration of the vehicle and operating the pump substantially without lost motion.

4. In a device for lubricating car or 1000- motive wheels, the combination of an oil supply vessel, a pipe leading therefrom to the wheel and a pendulum device normally inoperative and operated by the vibration of the vehicle in motion for controlling the flow of oil to the wheel at all normal angles at which the vehicle travels. I a

5. Ina device for lubricating car or locomotive wheels, a force feed device for delivering the oil upon the wheel, normally inoperative, and means for'operating it by and upon the oscillation of the vehicle in motion operative at all the normal angles at which the vehicle travels.

6. In a device for lubricating car or locomotive wheels, the combination of a tank for lubricant, a pipe leading therefrom to the wheel, means for force-feeding the lubricant through the pipe and means for controlling the force-feeding means by the vibration of the vehicle operative at all the normal angles at which the vehicle travels. I

7. In a device for lubricating car orlocomotive wheels, the combination of an oil supply, a pair of pumps taking the oil there-v from and delivering it to the wheels, and a single pendulum connected to the pumps, oscillated by the vibration of the vehicle for actuating simultaneously the suction stroke of one pump and the other.

8. In a device for lubricating car or locomotive wheels, the combination of an oil pressure stroke of the supply tank, a rock-shaft therein, a rock arm on said shaft, a pump actuated by said rock arm for taking the oil from the tank and delivering it to the, wheel, and means for rocking said shaft by the vibration of the vehicle in motion. I

' 9. In a'device for lubricating car or locomotive wheels, the combination of an oil supply tank, a rock shaft, a plurality of rock arms projecting from the shaft upon opposite sides, a pump connected to each rock-arm for taking oil from the tank and delivering it to the Wheels, and a pendulum device adapted to be actuated by the vibration of the vehicle in motion for rocking said shaft. I 10. In a device for lubricating car or locomotive wheels, the combination of an oil supply vessel, a pipe leading therefromjto the wheel, a check valve adjacent the point of delivery, means for forcing the oil beyond the check-valve, said means being operated by and upon the oscillation of the vehicle in motion operative at all the normal angles at which the vehicle travels.

11. In a device for lubricating car or locomotive wheels, the combination of a'lubricant supply vessel, a pipe leading therefrom to the point to be lubricated, a check valve at or near the point of delivery of the oil. and an intermittent force feed device for feeding the oil, said force-feed device being operated bythe vibration of the vehicle at all the angles at which it travels.

12. In a device for lubricating car or locomotive wheels, the combination of a lubricant supply vessel, a pipe leading therefrom to the point to be lubricated, a check-valve at the discharge end of the pipe and means controlled by the oscillation of the vehicle at all angles at which it travels for forcing oilthrough said pipe beyond the check- -valve.

13. In a device for lubricating the wheels of railwa vehicles, a tank, a pum actuated by the vibration of the vehicles 1n motion operative-at all angles at which the vehicle travels, for taking the oil therefrom and delivering it to the wheel, a discharge pipe for the pump and a'check-valve in the pipe,

in motion operative at'all the normal angles d at whichthe vehicle travels.

15. In a device for lubricating vehicles, the combination of alubricant receptacle, a lubricator ump to take oil from the receptacle and eliver it to the part to be lubricated, means for actuating the pump by the vibration of the vehicle. in travel, which means is connected to the pump so that it is v operated by oscillations of any degree.

In testimony whereof I afiix my'signature in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK HODGES. v Witnesses:

JAMES PaBARRY, ADELAIDE I; AnAMs. 

